The invention relates to electrical cable connector assemblies, and in particular to latching cable connector assemblies.
Electrical cable connectors are used in a variety of applications, including for interconnecting computer components. As an example, electrical cable connectors include Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (Serial ATA, or SATA) connectors, which are used to connect computer peripherals such as hard disk drives. Various other data cables and/or power cables can be used within computers.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,750, Wu describes a cable end connector assembly for mating with a complementary connector, including an insulative housing, a number of contacts received in the insulative housing, a spacer mounted to a rear end of the insulative housing, a cable including a number of conductors electrically connecting with corresponding contacts, a cover over-molded with the insulative housing and the cable, and a locking member. The housing forms a pair of wing portions extending rearwardly therefrom. The cover defines a pair of passages to receive the wing portions. The locking member includes a retaining section secured with the insulative housing, a pushing section engaged with the pair of wing portions, and a pair of latch portions located close to the retaining section.
Some prior art designs, such as the one described by Wu, can exhibit limited reliability, and can be damaged by application of excessive external forces.